MCR LTER: Coral Reef: Turbinaria CHN from a spatially explicit sampling campaign in lagoons of Moorea, French Polynesia

Nutrients are important for ecosystem structure and community dynamics. To quantify time-integrated patterns of nutrient regimes in tropical lagoon ecosystems, concentrations of nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon were measured from tissues of the macroalga Turbinaria ornata collected in lagoons around Moorea, French Polynesia in 2016, 2017, and annually starting in 2019. These sampling periods initially corresponded with distinct seasonal shifts in rainfall and wave forcing and later focused on the rainy season. Results showed that N enrichment was highest nearshore in fringing reef habitats, as well as in bays and at reef passes.